Search results for "Oration"

Development of a Sensor for Continuous and Accurate Monitoring of Air Flow for Open-System Whole Canopy Gas-Exchange Measurements

2007

The research describes the development and set-up of a simple and accurate solid-state device for continuous monitoring of airflow forced into an open-flow gas-exchange chamber for whole-canopy transpiration and photosynthesis measurements. The ventilation system was formed by a centrifugal fan powered by an electric motor and a PVC pipe (0.193 m inner diameter). To damp airflow turbulence, 50 cm of the main pipe was filled with a bundle of smaller PVC pipes (3 cm inner diameter). The measurement principle of the sensor is the thermal balance of an electrically heated copper plate compared to an unheated one. Calibration of the sensor was performed by two independent methods: gas dilution (…

Micrometeorological and sap flow measurement of water vapour exchanges in olive: Scaling up from canopy to orchard

2009

A comparison of water consumption evaluated at tree and orchard level was carried out in a commercial olive orchard located in Sicily using up-scaled sap-flow evapotranspiration estimations and eddy covariance measurements. Sap flow probes were installed on olive trees placed in one of the four plots characterizing a heterogeneous orchard. Trees were chosen, from a preliminary footprint analysis, in correspondence to the peak of the “relative normalized contribution” to flux for the prevailing wind conditions measured by an eddy covariance station localized in the central part of the orchard. Tree-age and planting density as well as main tree and orchard characteristics (Leaf Area per tree,…

Simplified Interception/Evaporation Model

2021

It is known that at the event scale, evaporation losses of rainfall intercepted by canopy are a few millimeters, which is often not much in comparison to other stocks in the water balance. Nevertheless, at yearly scale, the number of times that the canopy is filled by rainfall and then depleted can be so large that the interception flux may become an important fraction of rainfall. Many accurate interception models and models that describe evaporation by wet canopy have been proposed. However, they often require parameters that are difficult to obtain, especially for large-scale applications. In this paper, a simplified interception/evaporation model is proposed, which considers a modified …

Capital structure decisions in the biotechnology industry: the role of R&D collaborations with pharmaceutical incumbents

2011

This study focuses on the importance of collaborative R&D attitudes of biotech firms in the capital structure determination. Specifically, we investigate the short term impact of R&D agreements on financial leverage and we analyze whether this relationship depends on alliances’ features and the type and characteristics of the partners involved. Our results suggest that agreements with established pharmaceutical incumbents are followed by a reduction in the level of debt, while collaborations with biotech firms do not play a significant role, at least in the short term. However, different explanations are plausible. Our findings could be consistent with an “extension” of the pecking order th…

Building a model of corporate social responsibility in the old industrial region(in the case of Upper Silesia): a sociological perspective

2009

PurposeCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most crucial phenomena of global capitalism at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. For this reason it is emphasized by many companies (especially transnational corporations and multinational companies) and in the European Union and its policy. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze how CSR exists in a transitional country and region – the Upper Silesian Industrial District and the Rybnik Coalmine Area in Southern Poland.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative and quantitative methodology was used to summarize the sociological research among entrepreneurs and businesses located throughout the region.FindingsThis researc…

Carbonate Platform-Basin Transition in SW Sicily. Implications for the Petroleum Exploration in the Maghrebian Thrust and Fold Belt

2009

Knockout of thep-Coumarate Decarboxylase Gene fromLactobacillus plantarumReveals the Existence of Two Other Inducible Enzymatic Activities Involved i…

2000

ABSTRACTLactobacillus plantarumNC8 contains apdcgene coding forp-coumaric acid decarboxylase activity (PDC). A food grade mutant, designated LPD1, in which the chromosomalpdcgene was replaced with the deletedpdcgene copy, was obtained by a two-step homologous recombination process using an unstable replicative vector. The LPD1 mutant strain remained able to weakly metabolizep-coumaric and ferulic acids into vinyl derivatives or into substituted phenyl propionic acids. We have shown thatL. plantarumhas a second acid phenol decarboxylase enzyme, better induced with ferulic acid than withp-coumaric acid, which also displays inducible acid phenol reductase activity that is mostly active when gl…

Anamnesi di un’architettura del Novecento, manifestazioni patologiche e tecniche per il risanamento: il caso dello Stand Florio a Palermo

2010

Il poster mostra l'anamnesi di un architettura del XX secolo, ed evidenzia le manifestazioni patologiche e le tecniche per il suo restauro conservativo. The poster shows the case history of a twentieth century architecture, and underlines the pathological manifestations and techniques for its restoration.

Pervaporation membrane reactors

2013

Pervaporation is a peculiar membrane separation process which is now considered for the integration with some types of reactions in new promising and interesting applications. Indeed, pervaporation membrane reactors are suitable to some specific utilizations also in sustainable chemistry, which is an area currently characterized by a growing interest. The fundamentals of this type of membrane reactors are presented and the advantages and the difficulties in many applications are discussed and reviewed with particular attention to the opportunities for future developments.

Il tema delle absidi nelle Cattedrali normanne di Palermo e Cefalù tra storia, storiografia e restauri

2021

The essay illustrates the main characteristics of the Norman apses of the Cathedrals of Palermo and Cefalù, with specific reference to the themes of the cleristory (or internal gallery or ambulatory) and the relative connections at height . These areas, in Sicilian architecture in which Arab, Byzantine and Norman characters are hybridized in a splendid mix, have been the subject of a rich Sicilian historiographical production, which is accounted for. The interpretation of history and of the transformations that have affected complexes of such high value, experienced through documents and critical reasoning on the reliefs with the hypothesis of restitution, allows us to make a contribution t…